-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I 'm one of those people who wo n't throw out electronics just because they 're outdated .

If a device is still working and potentially useful , I 'd rather get it into the hands of someone who will continue to use it . And even when devices are broken or useless , I ca n't bring myself to landfill them -- I save them up for local electronics recycling drives .

But even though I take steps to keep my old electronics out of landfills and environmentally disastrous overseas disposal does n't mean I 'm willing to spend large amounts of time and effort to figure out what to do with them .

I bought a Droid Incredible last month . Since then , my two-year-old iPhone 3G has been gathering dust on my dresser . That iPhone served me well enough for a long time , and there 's nothing really wrong with it . I 'd love to pass it along to someone who wants it .

... Well , OK , there is one thing wrong with it : a few months ago I made the mistake of updating its operating system to iOS4 , which drastically slowed its performance . -LRB- Cult of Mac , Wall Street Journal and many other venues are reporting the same problem . -RRB-

This problem apparently is reversible , but not easily so -- and I just do n't feel like trying . I 've got many more pressing concerns .

My phone 's iOS4 performance problem is severe enough that I would be embarrassed to give this phone as a gift to anyone I know , or even to sell it directly to another party via Craigslist or eBay .

So I found a middleman to shield me from embarassment , keep my old iPhone out of the landfill and let me make some easy money all at the same time . I 'm selling my old iPhone -- as is -- to Gazelle.com , a `` reCommerce company '' that says it provides `` a practical , responsible , rewarding way for consumers to get value for used electronics . ''

In less than a minute Gazelle.com agreed to buy my old iPhone for $ 93 . This week they 're sending me a box to ship it to them , and after they 've checked out the phone they 'll PayPal me the money . -LRB- I 'll report back if that part of the process does n't work as promised . -RRB-

Admittedly , $ 93 is less than half of what people here in the Bay Area are asking today for an 8GB iPhone 3G on Craigslist -LRB- although that may not be the price they 're actually getting -RRB- . And it 's toward the low end of the price range for what folks are asking for this phone on eBay today . So yes -- if I want to sell my old iPhone , I definitely could make more money elsewhere .

I do n't care . My time is worth money . Avoiding hassle is worth money too .

Frankly , if I had to deal with the hassles and risks of selling this phone myself via Craigslist or eBay , and also reverting it back to an older OS so it 's bearably functional again to assuage my conscience , that iPhone would keep sitting on my dresser until the next electronics recycling drive . And then I 'd have to pay someone to take it away . So for me , that $ 93 is a total gain .

Gazelle.com spokesperson Kristina Kennedy explained that the company , which buys over 20 categories of electronics products in addition to cell phones , ends up `` finding new homes '' for more than 90 percent of the used devices they buy . Mostly they resell devices through sites like eBay or Overstock.com , or through wholesalers .

`` Our brand appeals mainly to the upgrader market , the gadget geeks , the people who always want the latest devices , '' she said . `` There tends to be a large secondary market for their used devices , which normally are n't very old . ''

For instance , before the iPhone 4 was unveiled June 7 , Gazelle.com was getting about 25 used iPhones per day . But as soon as iPhone users knew when they could get their new model , trade-ins on the site soared to 1500 units per day for two weeks . Since then it 's tapered off -LRB- currently about 500 per day -RRB- .

Kennedy noted that there also is a thriving global market for refurbished older devices , such as a four-year-old BlackBerry . `` We tend to resell those for reuse overseas , '' she said .

Gazelle.com has a no export / no landfill policy for recycling and disposing of products at the end of their useful life . This applies to their own operations and those of their downstream partners .

Gazelle.com also follows the EPA 's Responsible Recycling -LRB- R2 -RRB- practices -- which is a good start , even though a recent Government Accountability Office report points out that the federal agency `` does not specifically regulate the export of many other electronic devices , such as cell phones , which typically are not within the regulatory definition of hazardous waste despite containing some toxic substances . ''

The Gazelle.com site did not ask me which operating system is on my iPhone 3G . Their short list of questions concerned the physical condition of the hardware , which accessories I have , etc. .

I asked Kennedy whether , given the widely reported troubles with iOS4 on the iPhone 3G , they 'd start taking that into account into the price they offer on trade-ins .

`` Right now we sometimes ask those kinds of questions , but only about computers , '' she said . `` As phones become more like computers , we might start to pay closer attention to that . ''

However you get rid of your old cell phones , be sure to protect yourself with proper precautions to delete your data . Also , remove your SIM card -LRB- if your phone has one -RRB- .

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Gazelle.com is a `` reCommerce company '' that buys used electronics on the spot

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The company buys more than 20 categories of electronics

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More than than 90 percent of the used devices that Gazelle.com buys find new homes